On Friday, LeBron James announced his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers. Quickly, reports of a reunion with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope emerged. But the Sixers already had 14 players on their standard roster and were $3.419 million below the first apron. So, the expected sacrifice was made on Sunday.

The NBA transactions log on July 26 indicated that the team waived forward Dalen Terry. Thus, LeBron James was officially able to join Philly on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option in his 24th season.

Although the 76ers had an open roster spot, signing James would put them above the $209 million first apron hard cap. So, they took the most straightforward path of waiving Dalen Terry, who wasn’t guaranteed until January 10. The 24-year-old played the first 3 1/2 seasons of his career with the Chicago Bulls, who selected him with the 18th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

A few trades and a waiver later, Terry signed with the 76ers and produced 4.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 14 games. Now, he was waived again as the Sixers have already hard-capped themselves at the first apron after several offseason transactions. They were also put in this position because of LeBron James’ two-year structure, which removes the salary cap relief usually associated with one-year veteran minimum deals.

The new deal with the 76ers includes a full 15% trade kicker. Now, after officially signing LeBron James, Philadelphia is $2,012,784 below the first apron. With Bron’s signing now official, another star that the 76ers are targeting is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. But even his reunion with LeBron had to wait.

“Just in: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has agreed to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers after clearing waivers, sources tell ESPN,” yesterday senior insider Shams Charania reported on X.

“The two-time NBA champion with the Lakers and Nuggets, who was part of 2020 title along with LeBron James, gives the 76ers a wing shooter and defender.”

On Sunday, between the 76ers news of waiving Dalen Terry and signing Bron, the Grizzlies announced they were waiving KCP. So, it’s the first move for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to sign with the Sixers. Even though it’s a one-year, $3.9 million deal, it will only count $2.4 million due to the one-year veteran exception. Again, this will require roster sacrifices.

Another name reported to be on the chopping block is Jabari Walker. His current salary cap carry is $2.5 million. Just like Terry, Walker’s contract is fully guaranteed on 1/10/27, and currently, only $250,000 is guaranteed. If the Sixers decide to keep Walker, they can trade Johni Broome. Since he has a guaranteed contract, waiving him won’t bring cap relief.

Now the 76ers also have their 2033 first-round pick and three first-round pick swaps to make the deal sweeter. Plus, they have 14 second-round picks, which can also be used. So, the Sixers are once again facing the NBA’s salary cap hurdles in making signings official. For registering LeBron James, it required waiving Terry, and for KCP, too, it can pan out the same way.